Hold You Back
by Alexandra Shinai
Summary: Tony falls for Loki. And then he falls for Pepper. Outraged, Loki takes his jealousy out on the world... and uses it to twist Tony into his own personal toy. Problems arise, and the fate of the lives of the people he loves most is left in his hands.


**Inspired by the absolutely amazing Frostiron video on Youtube (Lacrymosa). If you haven't watched it, go watch it. It's fantastic. Seriously. As always, I don't own anyone or anything (sigh), don't like don't read, et cetera. Think of the events generally in the same universe, but in a different timeline after Loki is placed in the steel cage in the Helicarrier.**

* * *

Loki.

Loki Laufeyson, the God of Mischief, a Frost Giant.

Tony sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to wake himself up, the words on the page blurring. What time was it, even; two, three, four in the morning? This was too much work. He was sure he'd been sitting in this armchair for hours, reading through the thick book of Norse mythology that Fury had dropped in his lap with an instruction to 'know the enemy'. It was a large book, minimum of four hundred pages at best. Tony had been about to skip immediately to the section about Loki, but Fury had said he needed to go through the entire book. Of course, Tony had not been too pleased.

"Why the hell do I have to read the whole damn thing? It's not like the whole thing's about Loki!" Fury had affixed him with a glare that definitely made him feel uncomfortable, even with the man only having one eye.

"So we know Loki's weak points, and we can use them against him." Tony had rolled his eyes, huffing a few curses under his breath.

"I think you're just trying to make me have a slow, painful death." While Fury had said nothing in regards to that statement, Tony had seen his lip twitch - he probably was imagining Tony dying, the fucker.

"You're not the only one reading this, Stark. The rest of the team, except for Thor, has to read this."

Yeah, right. That was bullshit, because Barton had flounced in an hour ago and had taken the piss out of him for actually reading the book; Tony had responded by shooting him in the leg with a prototype of an arrow he'd been designing. Tony had decided the prototype was successful when Barton fell to the floor and he had to call Natasha to drag him out.

Tony decided to give up; he could finish the book tomorrow, he was already halfway through it, and he knew the rest of the team (save Barton, of course, who was temporarily paralyzed) would be threatening him if he didn't get the sleep he needed. They all remembered when Tony hadn't slept for a week and had collapsed in the middle of a battle (they'd sworn to kick him off the team if he did that again).

Right now, he really wished he was at his mansion in Malibu, or even the Stark Tower. That would be much better than the Helicarrier, because being a genius playboy billionaire philanthropist got him places there. Here, the only thing that got him places was the suit. He'd been given a room on the Helicarrier, but Tony had decided it unpleasant; the only thing pleasant in the room was the armchair, which was relatively comfortable and big enough for him to sling himself over. It was definitely much more comfortable than the bed. The worst thing about the room? It was JARVIS-proofed. Fucking SHIELD.

When Tony had complained about _that_, the only response he got?

"Be glad it has a window."

Fuck you too, Fury.

Tony tossed the book down onto the table and sank down into the chair, staring up at the ceiling for a few moments. His eyes followed a series of cracks zigzagging across the surface before he heard footsteps coming down the hallway in front of his room. He sat up, turning his head toward the small window, watching closely to see who was walking by.

And just like that, there he was.

Loki, hands handcuffed together behind his back, flanked by a dozen SHIELD guards, walking slowly (leisurely, it seemed like) down the hallway. He seemed to notice Tony watching him and turned his head toward the window. Tony contemplated ducking down until Loki's gaze slid from the room to him, and their eyes locked.

Tony nearly choked. A downright wicked grin appeared on Loki's face, curling his lips upwards, his eyes sparkling with something that looked like amusement. Even when Tony finally managed to tear his gaze away, he felt Loki's eyes following him, until Loki and the guards were past his room completely and Loki couldn't see him.

Fucking Loki. He was a fucking enigma wrapped in a mystery, that was for sure. Coming onto the Helicarrier so easily, giving in so easily when Tony and Steve had approached him in Germany. Tony rubbed his eyes, adjusting his position on the armchair to sling his legs up over one arm and prop his head up on the other.

He needed sleep. He didn't need to think about what Loki had meant with that grin, the glint in his eyes.

But he did anyway, because he never got what he wanted, apparently.


End file.
